I downright fall under the spell of certain themes in either movies or series. This series had two of my favorites. Time travel and swashbuckling epic times full of exotic and romantic lore, legends, and traditions. And especially given my naïve Western upbringing, I am heart and soul smitten by Chinese fable and mythology. This series transported me back into time, like with the character, where I too could imagine myself beside them. Perhaps I have always secretly harbored a desire to be a valiant hero from another culture in the past.

A modern teen named Quin Fang (Hyde) has been born into a family renowned for their swordsmanship skills. Touring and messing with one of the family swords, he is suddenly transported magically back to the Qin Dynasty. By accident and under rather unpleasant circumstances, he meets Meng Yu (Huang Jing Zhou). Meng Yu is an orphan from a rival tribe of Quin Fang’s ancestors. Meng Yu is heavily engaged in a conflict with some henchmen when Quin Fang ‘intervenes’. The two escape, each with conflicting opinions about the emperor’s motives. They begin a quest to meet the first emperor who unites China to discover what his true intentions are. Their story peels back myths, legends, truths, and realities with each learning much about the other they did not know.

But the story is so much more than an adventure to find the truth. It is also a journey of self-discovery. It teaches Quin Fang to experience the world, through the eyes of how his history got him here, to where he is in his own life. He begins to put life and principles and certainly beliefs into perspective. Equally, he begins to value and see that others, while perhaps having faults, are also on a journey of self-discovery, equally important as his. Maybe the journey would be easier and less difficult to traverse if they combine their efforts. And that is what they do. Ultimately and secretly Meng Yu protects Quin Fang.

Quin Fang and Meng Yu form a bond. A rather strong and intense bond that each was willing to give up his life for the other. In so short a period, we can see a love grow to almost mythical proportions based upon the mere closeness to one another. They were able to break down the walls separating them and ‘see’ each other and feel each other’s presence intrinsically and extrinsically. As time passed, their interchanges went from adversarial to affectionate. They cared for each other. On and in many ways and on and in many levels. Each touched the other not so much on a physical level but emotionally and subliminally. In a sense, they became soulmates. Yes, perhaps under different circumstances and in a different time, a physical bond would no doubt have been a logical conclusion from the intensity of their interactions. In the end, Meng Yu becomes his sword spirit with a promise that they will meet again.

Li Quing’er as Zhuang Ling stands out in this series. As the antagonist, not only is she exotically beautiful, she is a pawn under the control of Zhao Gao (Yin Li Zhi) a would-be dictator and the antithesis of the emperor. The nexus of Ling’s transition is when she encounters Quin Fang and Meng Yu they treated her with respect and compassion, even if her encounters and interactions have been nefarious towards them. Respect and consideration have been something sorely missing as a reaction to her. They know she is only a victim. Her metamorphosis begins to blossom. While playing the hapless individual, she eventually turns on Zhao Gao and in a magnanimous gesture makes a supreme sacrifice for the good of the two of them. The story and the characters are replete with moral compasses. It presents a clear picture of good and evil.

This is a very short series and fast paced. The editing is very abrupt, and it feels as if a lot of the story is ‘missing’. While the narrative flows linearly, how it gets there is perplexing. Transitions between scenes are choppy and there seems to be gaps. But honestly, the acting is very good as well as the cinematography. The special effects were both good and bad, in the sense they were sometimes amateurish. The costumes were excellent and so were the overall scenes.

While it does appear to have a ‘sad’ ending, it does not. All is as it was. And if you are wondering, yes Quin Fang and Meng Yu reunite in the present. To be sure, as handsome as they were in the past, they are even more so in the present time. They indeed make a beautiful ‘couple’.

This is a very enjoyable way to spend an hour of escapism. For those of us who still dream and use this as our flight of fancy, it was captivating and romantic. Perhaps I got too carried away, but I do not care. I am smiling as I write this. I think you will smile also.

Rating- 4.5 out of 5